Refrigerating apparatus



H. M. GRAHAM REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Filed June 21, 1953 INVENTOR i ojwye, da l Jim-07a? @mizza w MK ll llll IT ATTQRNEYS Patented Sept. 25, 1934 UNITED STATES REFRIGEBATING APPABATU S Harold M. Graham, Buifalo, N. Y., assignor to Ross Heater & Mfg. Co. Inc., Buffalo, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application June 21, 1933, Serial No. 676,876

3 Claims.

This invention relates to refrigerating apparatus of the kind in which the refrigerating medium is lowered to the desired temperature 'by causing it to pass through an evacuated chamber 5 and more particularly the invention is concerned with apparatus of the type generally described in which the evacuation of the cooling chamber is effected by steam ejectors, the degree of vacuum that is maintained in the said chamber being predetermined to correspond to the temperature to which the refrigerating medium is to be lowered.

One object of the invention is to provide apparatuswhich is so designed that several mediums l5 may be cooled simultaneously, it being understood that each of the mediums is intended for a different use and that owing to the specific requirements with respect to each use a common medium would not be satisfactory.

A further object is to provide a novel arrangement of the parts of the apparatus, whereby simplicity and economy in construction are obtained.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which:

The figure is a view, partially in section and partially diagrammatic, of apparatus embodying features of the invention.-

The invention is illustrated, by way of example, in connection with apparatus for cooling the refrigerating medium of an air conditioning system and the water of an associated drinking water system.

The apparatus, as illustrated, includes a tank 5 which is adapted to provide a cooling chamber 5a. The refrigerating medium for the air conditioning apparatus is introduced into the chamber, preferably in the form of a spray, through a pipe 6, a predetermined body of the medium being maintained in the chamber in any suitable manner. The refrigerating medium is withdrawn from the cooling chamber through a pipe 7 by a suitable pump 8. It is conducted by a pipe 9 to the cooling tubes or coils of the air conditioning apparatus, the said apparatus being sufficiently indicated by a showing of the casing 10 thereof. The refrigerating medium which is discharged from the apparatus is conducted by a pipe 11 to the pipe 6 by which it is reintroduced into the chamber 5.

The chamber 5 is evacuated by an ejector 12, the said ejector being adapted to maintain a vacuum in the chamber which corresponds to the value at which the temperature of the refrigerating medium is to be maintained. Steam is supplied to the nozzles 12a of the ejector through a pipe 13, it being understood that the number of ejectors is dependent, in each case, upon the requirements of the particular installation.

The steam which is discharged from the ejector 12, together with that portion of the refrigerating medium which vaporizes, is discharged into a condenser 14 in which it is condensed. The ejector 12, therefore, includes a throat-piece 15, the latter co-operating with a connection 16 carried by the condenser to provide a conduit through which the steam and entrained vapors pass to the condenser. A vacuum is maintained in the condenser 14 by a steam ejector 17. The latter, which is in communication with the condenser through a pipe 18, is supplied with steam through a pipe 19. The ejector l7 discharges through a pipe 20 into an auxiliary condenser 21.

A vacuum is maintained in the auxiliary condenser by an ejector 22. The latter is in communication with the auxiliary condenser through a pipe 23 and discharges through a pipe 24 into a condenser 25. The said condenser is in communication with the atmosphere through a vent 26. Cooling water is circulated through the various condensers in any suitable manner, the said an condensers being of conventional construction. The condensate from the condenser 14 is withdrawn through a pipe 27 by a pump 28. Condensate from the condensers 21 and 25 may be withdrawn in any suitable manner. 35

The chamber 5a is also utilized to cool the water which is to be circulated through an associated drinking water system. The latter may, for example, include a fountain 29 which is provided with a suitable waste pipe 29a. In accord- 9o ance with the invention an interchanger 30 is arranged in the chamber 5a, the said interchanger including nests of tubes 30a which are carried by tube sheets 31 and 32. The interchanger is supported in the chamber by the tube sheet 32, the said tube sheet being suitably secured to an outlet connection 33 which is formed or provided upon the tank 5. The interchanger also includes headers 34 and 35 which are carried by the tube sheets 31 and 32 respectively. The header 35 is formed with an inlet chamber 36 and an outlet chamber 3'7. The water to be cooled is introduced into the inlet chamber 36 from a pipe 38. In its passage through the tube nests to the outlet chamber 37 it is cooled to the desired temperature. From the outlet chamber 37 the cooled water is caused to flow through a pipe line 39 which is adapted to supply the cooled water to the fountain 29 and the various other fixtures which may be included in the system. n

In order to replenish the water which is withdrawn from the system, the latter includes a reservoir 40. Water is supplied to the reservoir through a pipe 41. A float controlled valve 42 is adapted to maintain the water in the reservoir at a predetermined level. Water, therefore, .is admitted through the pipe 41 at substantially the same rate that it is withdrawn from the system. Circulation of the water from the reservoir 40 through-the interchanger is effected by a pump 43, the inlet of the said pump communicating with the reservoir through a pipe 43a while the outlet thereof is connected to the pipe 38. The water is circulated continuously through the system, that portion which is unused being returned through a pipe 44 to the reservoir for recirculation through the interchanger.

The interchanger 30 is preferably located above the body of refrigerating medium in the chamber 5a and in such relation to the pipe 6 that the re frigerating medium which is introduced into the chamber is sprayed upon the tubes 30a. The arrangement' of the interchanger in the manner described is desirable from a standpoint of economy as the cooling capacity of the tubes, per unit area, is greater than would be the case if the tubes were immersed in the body of medium in the chamber 5a or if a portion of the said medium were caused to circulate in heat exchange relation with respect to the tubes. Hence by locating the interchanger above the body of the refrigerating medium in the bottom of the chamber and spraying that portion of the said medium which is reintroduced into the chamber upon the tubes of the interchanger, the latter may be of a smaller size than would otherwise be permissible.

I claim as my invention:

1. In apparatus of the character described, the combination of cooling means through which a refrigerating medium is circulated, and means for cooling said refrigerating medium, said means including a chamber through which said medium is circulated prior to its passage to said cooling means and an ejector for evacuating said chamber to lower the temperature of said refrigerating medium as it passes therethrough, of equipment for cooling a second medium, said equipment including an interchanger which is located in said chamber and through which said second medium is circulated, whereby as an incident to the cooling of said first mentioned refrigerating medium said second medium is also cooled.

2. In apparatus of the character described, the combination of cooling means through which a refrigerating medium is circulated, and means for cooling said refrigerating medium, said means including a chamber through which said medium is circulated prior to its passage to said cooling means and an ejector for evacuating said chamber to lower the temperature of said refrigerating medium as it passes therethrough, of equipment for cooling a second medium, said equipment including an interchanger which is located in said chamber above the level of said refrigerating medium and through which said second medium is circulated, whereby as an incident to the cooling of said first mentioned refrigerating medium said second medium is also cooled.

3. In apparatus of the character described, the combination of cooling means through which a refrigerating medium is circulated, and means for cooling said refrigerating medium, said means including a chamber into which said refrigerating medum is introduced in the form of a spray and through which said medium is circulated prior to its passage to said cooling means and an ejector for evacuating said chamber to lower the temperature of said refrigerating medium as it passes therethrough, of equipment for cooling a second medium, said equipment including an interchanger which is located in said chamber above the level of said first mentioned refrigerating medium and in the path of said spray, whereby as an incident to the cooling of said first mentioned refrigerating medium said second medium is also cooled.

HAROLD M. GRAHAM. 

